This recipe is v.similar to the one in Silver Spoon for ossobucco milanese, but they are dredged in flour before browning then simmered stovetop and cooked for far less time. I think your method probably yeilds better results, although I probably will dredge them in flour as I remember my mimi doing this.

Dredging in flour and browning was more necessary in the past, when the meat was tougher. I still prefer to dredge and brown because I like the flavor and texture it imparts. As for cooking times, they depend upon your meat, and you are free to increase them if you want.

I have been doing a little perusing since I plan to make ossobuco for a party. I find the vast majority use white wine, but a few red, and was surprised to see Emeril using red on his show. Now am in a quandry. Emeril's was finished with orzo the last 20 minutes. Am very impressed by your recipe and directions. I guess I am asking what is behind the pros and the cons?

I guess I am asking what is behind the pros and the cons [for using red or white wine]?

Using red wine (like a Cabernet Savignon) tends to produce a very potent sauce. After the sauce is reduced, the flavor is very strong - which I find works really well with other brasied dishes (like short ribs), but for osso buco, the white wine provides a delicate flavor that doesn't overpower the natural flavoring of the shanks, broth, aromatics, and tomato in the sauce. Osso buco sauce should not be too strongly flavored, but should be a gentle blend of the ingredients.

I have made Wolfert's ossobuco for 4, and it was fabulous. Now I plan to make it again, but for a larger group of 8 - scary from my tiny kitchen. I wonder what you would think about making it the day before ... perhaps not braising until complete done? Or what? I am going to have to do it in two 5.5 qt. 'dutch-ovens' braising in one oven - a good puzzle for you analytical engineers! Somehow, am going to have to transfer the meat so can get to the reduction of sauce, etc. All this I would like to have done before the guests arrive? I know - you will say -forget the ossobuco and just roast three chickens and be done with it. It's a puzzlement. joan

I have made Wolfert's ossobuco for 4, and it was fabulous. Now I plan to make it again, but for a larger group of 8 - scary from my tiny kitchen. I wonder what you would think about making it the day before ... perhaps not braising until complete done? Or what? I am going to have to do it in two 5.5 qt. 'dutch-ovens' braising in one oven - a good puzzle for you analytical engineers! Somehow, am going to have to transfer the meat so can get to the reduction of sauce, etc. All this I would like to have done before the guests arrive? I know - you will say -forget the ossobuco and just roast three chickens and be done with it. It's a puzzlement. joan

I would braise it until it was completely done, remove the meat, let it cool, wrap the container in plastic wrap and refrigerate. (Do that for both Dutch ovens, one after the other if you don't have the space in your oven to put them in side by side or double stack). Then remove the fat from the liquid, combine the juices and set aside for the day of the event. Reheat the osso buco by putting all the meat in the pot with the juice and baking for another 30-40 minutes to get it nice and hot. Remove the meat and make the sauce. (Truthfully, if I were doing this, I'd skip the oven reheat and just microwave the osso buco to speed things up. You only need to reheat it since a great deal of the collagen has been transformed into gelatin during the long braise - microwaving won't hurt the taste or texture of the dish at this point.)

I made osso bucco with pork shanks this weekend, following a recipe very similar to the one above, and it was a real hit (or so everyone said - but even if they were just being polite, I thought it was really very good). Quite a lot of people do not eat veal, so this is a good alternative.

pork shanks are quite cheap here (south africa), going for between $3 and 5 (US) per kilogram, so this is a very good budget meal for us.

I bought mine from a german deli that usually pickles and smokes them. Some of the cuts were really huge, so I suspect it came from the hind leg. I'm not sure whether that makes a difference or whether one should only use meat from the front shanks (size-wise). I bought 4 shanks and it was enough for 10 people!

The big pieces were also not holding together that well, and it didn't look as if tying them as suggested would have helped, so I ended up cutting the loose outer bits into chunks, and keeping the big bones with the meat clinging to it intact. So we ended up with more of a stew than a single piece per person, but that did not seem to detract from the overall taste, although of course it did not look authentic.

But seeing as osso bucco stands for 'hollow bone', I guess it can still be called that!

Your recipe is of great interest to me as we raise Boer meat goats & retail the meat from our farm and at a local Farmers Market.
I recently had a kid processed and was delighted with the packages of Osobuco. Would you recommend that I make any adjustments to your recipe because I am using kid as opposed to veal ? Boer Goat meat is mild and the osobuco is small..
Happy to have discovered your site.
Thank you,
Judy

Judy - I understand that your question is directed to Michael, but you've made me curious - are you in RSA, and if so, any chance of being near Cape Town? I've never tried goat meat but would love to if I could lay my hands on some. Is the taste similar to mutton/lamb?

Hi Kali..
We are in Maine. Northern New England.
We really enjoy our goat meat. It is much milder than Lamb. The Boer breed is raised specificaly for meat production. It really cannot be compared to a dairy breed of goat. Very much a health food, it is low in saturated fat & cholesterol,at the same time high in protien.
Learning to cook with it has been exciting. I give out samples at the Farmers Market every week which is how I happened to find this site. Always searching !
Judy

Unfortunately, I've never had the opportunity to cook a kid/goat. My guess is that not much recipe alteration is necessary since it's a long braise - it's hard to over braise. The key is to cook it long enough that although the proteins are all tight and coagulated, the collagen has had ample time to reconfigure into unctuous gelatin. Anyone else know if the recipe needs modification for a kid?

Am looking forward to trying your recipe--have done osso bucco with the pressure cooker but have not tried the oven braising. Can you suggest a full menu to go along with the osso bucco? Have not had much success with risotto, so I would probably stay away from it.